“Eye Of The Storm” will be available as limited edition 7” EP (1000 copies split as follows: 500x on black vinyl, 300 on red vinyl and 200x on white vinyl) and as digital single, featuring the new songs “Eye Of The Storm,” “Infiltrator,” and “My Enemy.”

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, announced the next four new bands for the upcoming floating festival: Death DTA (featuring Sean Reinert (Cynic) - drums, Paul Masvidal (Cynic) - guitar, Steve DiGiorgio (Autopsy, Testament, Iced Earth) - bass, and Max Phelps (Cynic)), Miami death/progressive fusion act Cynic, Chicago doom metallers Novembers Doom and German hard rock act Bonfire (who will play the entire "Fireworks" album at one of its performances).

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Death DTA, Cynic, Novembers Doom and Bonfire join previously announced acts, with 11 more bands still to be announced:

CarcassCripperDark TranquilityDeath AngelD.R.I.Fear FactoryFinntrollHaggardIzegrimLeaves' EyesObituary (debuting the band's forthcoming new album in its entirety)Orphaned LandOverkillPungent StenchRavenRising StormSatyriconSepticfleshSoilworkSwallow the SunSymphony XThe HauntedVictoryVicious Rumors (playing "Digital Dictator" album in its entirety)Xandria More...

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, announced four new bands for the upcoming floating festival: German classical metal act Haggard, U.S. power metal veterans Vicious Rumors, the recently revived Austrian grindcore act Pungent Stench and Dutch death thrashers Izegrim.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Haggard, Vicious Rumors, Pungent Stench and Izegrim join previously announced acts, with 15 more acts still to be announced:

UMC, the promoters for 70,000 Tons of Metal, announced that Israeli symphonic metal act Orphaned Land, legendary traditional metal act Raven and German power/progressive metal act Rising Storm have been added to the cruise.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Orphaned Land, Raven and Rising Storm join previously announced acts, with 19 more acts still to be announced:

Legendary U.S. death metal act Obtituary has been added to the upcoming 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise. In one of the two sets played on board, the band will premiere its entire upcoming new album, which is as of yet untitled.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Obituary joins previously announced acts, with 22 more acts still to be announced:

Victory, the legendary German traditional metal act featuring Accept guitarist Herman Frank, is the latest band announced for the upcoming 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise.

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

Victory joins previously announced acts (Note: Kamelot cancelled its appearance due to schedule conflicts), with 23 more acts still to come:

The annual 70000 Tons of Metal Cruise has resumed announcing bands for the 2014 installment, the latest of which is: Satyricon, The Haunted and Cripper. For The Haunted, it will be the first show with the new lineup (see introduction video here).

The cruise will take place from January 27, 2014 to January 31, 2014 - with the destination set as Costa Maya, Mexico, which was voted on by the fans. For more information, including booking your trip - head on over to www.70000tons.com.

The trio joins the previously announced acts (Note: Kamelot cancelled its appearance due to schedule conflicts), with 24 more acts still to come:

"Due to the overwhelming response for the Trespass clip, we've decided to post another song. This time it's DOA from the One Kill Wonder album. The midi-drum track we found online is insanely rigid and stiff, lacking the dynamics the song would have when the whole band plays the song, but hey.. It's all in the name of good fun, right? Anyway, we enjoyed making this clip. We hope you enjoy watching it too."

Sweden's The Haunted is finally back in the spotlight after almost a year without public activity, following a major line-up change in autumn 2012. But the time has finally come to break the silence and announce the return of The Haunted to form...

Trollfest came on after Sabaton and played some lively little ditties, including the official Metalcamp theme, but after three songs, we were ready to call it a show. We dropped off all our shit back at camp, and now here we are.

Business is booming at the food stands and raging at the bar, and once again, the strippers are out in full force. We’ve found an empty table on the covered deck ringing the steep hill that meets the narrow beach.

The Haunted has announced the departure of two more members: guitarist Anders Björler and drummer Per Möller Jensen. The latest departures follow vocalist Peter Dolving's exit earlier this year. Here's the statement from Jensen:

It's with deep regret we have to inform you of another two departures from The Haunted; guitarist Anders Björler and drummer Per Möller Jensen. No animosity whatsoever caused these events, nor are there any other feelings than that they will both be dearly missed. We wish them all the best in whatever, and wherever, their future endeavors will take them.

For all you who have any knowledge about the band, and know how to count, you will realize that there are only two band members left; Jonas and myself. We are still committed to the The Haunted. However, in the light of these recent events, we honestly don't know what will happen. We hope for your appreciation of our current situation, and for your patience.

Here's the statement from Anders:

I feel that I have come to the end of the line regarding THE HAUNTED. This is not a sudden or hasty decision. I have been contemplating it for the last couple of years. Peter’s departure earlier this year made me more certain than ever that I had reached my personal goal with THE HAUNTED, and that the time was right to call it quits.

I have enjoyed every bit of the ride. It’s been an overwhelming journey. I would like to thank the other band members especially, our crew through the years, and our fans worldwide for the experience and opportunity. Thank you so much! The memories will be with me forever.

I will of course continue writing music, but where that leads me?, simply too early to say.

Vocalist Peter Dolving announced on his Facebook page that he has officially left The Haunted. In the following post, Dolving explicitly said he will not divulge the reasons for his departure:

I am officially quitting The Haunted. After years of working with the band, I am out. I have had it. I will NOT answer questions to why. It's no one elses business. Thank you very much. I am looking forward to seeing you people at other shows with other projects.

Sweden's The Haunted continues to promote newest album release "Unseen," which hit the charts at #5 in Sweden as well as #26 in Finland upon release. After an Australian tour and a busy Summer schedule which saw the band appear at major European open air festival events, The Haunted has most recently announced a run of dates in Sweden with Entombed as part of the 2011 edition of the "Close-Up Made Us Do It" tour, a couple of headlining shows in Greece, as well as a (re-scheduled) tour of Japan together with Norwegian acts Ihsahn and Leprous

Now, The Haunted launch the first promotional video clip for the "Unseen" album. The song "No Ghost" (in a special live rendition from Wacken Open Air festival 2011) can be viewed below.

Progressive act Leprous recently released the band's third album and InsideOutMusic debut “Bilateral” (reviewed here) and has also announced a massive European tour supporting Finnish metallers Amorphis.

Now the band has announced its first ever shows to occur in Japan. Details are as follows:

More information on the Japanese shows can be found at this location. The band checked in with the following comment about the tour: "We are more than happy to announce that we're going to Japan at last! We will perform alongside The Haunted with both Leprous and Ihsahn, and we promise our Japanese fans a concert they won't forget! We look forward to seeing you all soon!"

It's a slow week for metal on the Rock Band Network, with only a handful of heavier tracks hitting the game. Amberian Dawn continues its domination of the RBN this week with yet another new track, and The Haunted also throws its hat into the ring with the song "No Ghost." For anyone with a taste for deathcore, Dr. Acula is now making an appearance on the network.